It’s Got Grit
Actress Hailee Steinfeld plays Mattie Ross, the fourteen year old daughter of a recently slain man. Her father was killed by Tom Cheney, played by Josh Brolin. Cheney was a gambler and paranoid, and one night while losing at cards, convinced himself he was being cheated. Leaving to get his gun, he gets stopped by Mr. Ross who tries to calm Cheney down. Instead, Cheney murders him and leaves town.
Mattie Ross is determined to bring the fugitive to justice. She aims to hire the most ruthless US Marshall she can to help her find him as she is convinced the law will never catch Cheney, or certainly not soon enough to satisfy her. As she tries to convince Rooster Cogburn (Jeff Bridges) to take the job, she runs into LaBoeuf (Matt Damon), a Texas Ranger who has been tracking Cheney for another murder under another name for several months now.
The drunkard Cogburn tricks Mattie and joins up with LaBoeuf and they head into rough country to track him down. Mattie Ross, stubborn as hell, catches up with them and the trio sets out to track down Cheney, and potentially Lucky Ned Pepper, another fugitive that Cogburn would love to catch up with. The relationship between all three characters is rocky but, overtime, they manage to get along well enough to locate Cheney and Pepper’s gang, although the journey was rife with setbacks, large and small.
Ethan and Joel Coen stick to the main story, which I am familiar with only through the original John Wayne film, rather well. They take a lot of scenes in a different direction though, which I’m hesitant to get too detailed on due to spoilers. Suffice it to say if you have seen the Wayne film, this is familiar territory for sure, but there are numerous scenes that are either left out or completely different. That’s all well and good of course, as this is a different take on the same tale. The differences aren’t major though, and ultimately it’s a very similar film. Personally, I find the original better. That likely has a good bit to do with me being a John Wayne fan. In addition to that however, I thought the attempted humor in the Coen film felt out of place and some of the ‘grit’ felt a little too forced. And while it may have been intentional due to his alcoholism, I thought Cogburn’s voice was a bit too gruff. At the end of the day, I’m far more apt to watch the 1969 version than this one again.
All that said, it’s still a well put together film from a directing, cinematography, and acting standpoint. Bridges, Steinfeld, Damon, and the lesser roles turn in excellent performances, but the total package, for me, doesn’t match up well with the Wayne version.
True Grit Saddles Up On Blu-ray
The Blu-ray release of True Grit is solid. In addition to the Blu-ray, there is a second disc, a DVD, containing the full movie and a digital copy. Image quality is, as expected, outstanding. The detail in the sets, costumes, and environment standout nicely. From a cinematography standpoint, I thought the CG snakes and the horse riding scene set against the night sky didn’t look good. That aside, from a technical perspective, the image quality is crisp and vibrant, exactly what you would expect and hope for from a modern release. The menu is well designed, being both appealing and functional.
A DTS-HD 5.1 lossless track is your primary audio option here and it sounds great. The theme song, which hit me first, was a treat to hear. Dialogue and effects are balanced really well — gunshots overpower dialogue, background and ambient noises aren’t left out, and voices are clear. A job well done.
All extra features are in HD and are therefore included on the first disc. The extras are:
-Mattie’s True Grit (5m): Steinfeld does a short interview here where she talks about playing Mattie Ross and working with the Coens.
-Charles Portis: The Greatest Writer You’ve Never Heard Of (31m): A pretty detailed look at the author of the novel that the 1969 and 2010 films were based off of.
-From Bustles to Buckskin: Dressing for the 1880s (8m): The costumes look great in this film and that’s not by mistake. This feature examines what went into making the costumes for the movie and why they’re important.
-Re-Creating Fort Smith (11m): A look at building the set used for the main town.
-Colts, Winchesters & Remingtons – The Guns of a Post-Civil War Western (4.5m): A short but interesting piece about efforts to make the weapons true to the novel.
-The Cast (5.5m): Another quick feature that rushes through this high caliber cast.
-Trailer
To the summary…